Notes: Ok, I know there may be a few mistakes in spelling here or there, I pretty much wrote this while half asleep and bored out of my skull. Started out as a simple derpy thing and morphed into this, which I MIGHT consider continuing….. That said, let me know what you think in the comments section
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage, stood silent in the medical observatory. This section of the hospital was currently sealed off and guarded by the ANBU Black Ops due to a highly classified patient. Were one to come across the sight, they may wonder why the secrecy, why the leader of the Leaf Village himself was here, why the security…. though if they were to see the Hokage's face, they'd simply grow more confused. Hiruzen had a look that was both worried and utterly dumbfounded, borderline annoyed at the sight that greeted him through the one-way mirror.
"I'm getting too old for this horse shit." The age leader muttered to himself as he watched one of the doctors move to the side to grab a new stack of papers to write upon. With the man's body leaning to the side, a swath of reddish orange fur could be seen on a body that had to be huge if the bulging, bloated bicep was anything to go by. Sighing in frustration, the elderly man spoke to a shadowed figure who appeared from the air via a jutsu.
"Status?" His voice was steady, his face unturned from the sight in the room.
"Sir, all forces confirm warning condition red. The city is on lockdown and all civilians are being moved to the shelters under the ruse of a surprise drill. No reports of disturbance or issues. All forces are green." The ANBU spoke in an even but respectful voice.
"Good. The lockdown is to remain in effect till I alone give the all clear. Also, have the clan heads from the Akimichi and the Yamanaka clans come here at once. Tell them it is a priority one command."
The figure did not reply, and the old man didn't expect him to. With only the lightest rustle of leaves in the shadows, Hiruzen was once again alone. He sighed heavily as the doctors and scientists moved about the huge figure sleeping in the room beyond the glass, showing more glimpses at to what this strange creature was. It was covered in fur from head to foot, stood a good six and a half feet in height if not more, and was built like a bunker. Huge, hulking muscles bulged across its limbs and torso while the creature's neck, or lack thereof, was so thick that it would have difficulty moving its head around very far. Rather humorously, it had a very pronounced gut that jutted out in a mound of orange fur from its torso, giving it, as one doctor called it, 'a grand beer gut'. Honestly the whole situation just made the old leader want to drink himself into a stupor at how ridiculous and stupid it all seemed. Truly the Gods must have been pulling a prank on him….but he was not laughing. A nurse stepped away to place a stack of notes onto a trolley and exposed the face of the sleeping creature. The face looked like that of an adolescent fox, that much was clear. The slender muzzle and small black marks at the whiskers showed as much and the color of the fur only cemented the fact.
"Naruto…. What the hell did they do to you?" Hiruzen growled out as he watched the doctors examine the nine tails that pooled on the floor. The fluffy appendages were at least fifteen feet in length each and with their muscle and bone structure, would no doubt be prehensile. Occasionally, one would squirm about slowly and coil around a random object or one of the staff. Thankfully though, they did little more than give soft squeezes before going limp and falling away. Turning from the window and starting to pace, the leader of the village ran through the information he already had about the situation.
It had started yesterday, just a day after Team Seven had returned from the Land of Waves, when the report from the ANBU came that Naruto Uzumaki had been attacked at his home. Apparently, the boy had been cornered and attacked by what appeared to be either a random civilian, which the Third doubted given the initial injuries recorded, or a rouge ninja. The boy had been beaten nearly to death, with almost his entire rib cage being crushed, both legs broken in multiple areas, two major concussions, and finally a stab wound to the gut, right over the seal that held back the Nine Tailed Fox. It was this last bit of info that told Hiruzen, that this had to be a targeted attack by ninja and NOT a civilian. The fact that the kunai had struck at just the right spot, AND been laced with an unknown chakra, just sealed the deal so to speak. After being brought to the hospital, the change had begun as the unstable energies of the fox had started to leak and spew from the wound. Moments later, as the energy cascade seemed ready to explode outward, possibly releasing the great beast to finish what it started several years ago, the young boy's body began to mutate while the injuries he sustained, healed. He swelled in size till reaching the current state while the features became more 'fox like'. This whole thing had everybody stumped to the point that many of the staff currently examining the boy turned kitsune, believed that perhaps this might have been a failsafe of the seal. This notion, while welcome in a weird way, still didn't work in the Third's mind. He'd seen the great seal used by the Fourth Hokage and NOWHERE in the structure did he remember a failsafe that turned the container into…. well, what Naruto had become.
"Sir? You called for us?" The old man looked up from his musings to see that several minutes had passed and both the heads of the Akimichi and the Yamanaka stood at attention in full battle gear. Sighing and nodding his head, the Third Hokage motioned for the two men to stand at ease.
"Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I know your clans need your help with the ongoing crisis, but hopefully with your knowledge and expertise, we can avoid any…incidents." The two looked at each other as they were bid to look through the one-way mirror. At their shocked looks and nervous actions, Hiruzen simply nodded and decided to answer their unspoken questions. "Yes, that's Naruto in there. No, the fox is NOT free. That much we know for certain. Your roles will be to conduct a final exam on him and build a report for the council meeting." Both men at first looked ready to protest but at seeing the deadly serious demeanor of their leader, thought better of it. "I know both of you have….reservations about the boy and I honestly can't blame you, given the losses your clans took when the Fox attacked. But know that I will suffer no further harm to come to him. Is that clear? You are to examine and report, nothing more. If I find that you have done anything further than that, I will personally hand out the punishment. Is that understood?" At this, both men gave a salute while the aged Hokage sighed. "My words may be harsh but know that we can ill afford another attack. I pray that what Naruto has turned into still bears his heart and soul. But if not…." He let the word hang like a shroud as Choza gave a light chuckle.
"Sir, I'll freely admit that I had no love for the kid in years past. But…. as you said a long time ago: 'time heals all wounds'. I didn't like him then, hell, one could almost say I hated the little brat. But the village would be a lot more dull without his pranks and he's started to really prove himself if the rumors of the Wave mission are true." A full grin split the big man's face as he nudged Inoichi "Hey, remember the cat nip attack on the Inuzuka dog kennels?" The Yamanaka groaned and rolled his eyes but still, a laugh escaped him.
"Gods…. Tsume was ready to rip the village apart after that. Heh, Naruto truly has been one of the worst headaches we've ever had as a whole. But damned if all of us aren't a bit sharper because of him and his idiotic pranks." He then gave his leader a nod. "Don't worry sir, we'll be careful and do what we can. Afterall, losing the little knucklehead might just cause us to slip back into our lazy ways." At this, Hiruzen nodded his head with a small smile and bid both men to enter the medical room.
Stepping inside, both clan heads gasped at the figure on the table before them. The medical staff had all stepped back into the shadows but had clipboards and pens in hand, ready to record every detail they could while staying out of the way. Inoichi ignored the staff and approached the sleeping kitsune slowly with Choza right beside him. His eyes took in various details at a glance, filing them away quickly and neatly. The overly developed muscles, bulked to the point that the joints could very well have issues moving. The nine long, obviously prehensile tails, two of which were slowly squirming about on the floor, seeking something to grip onto as three others were. The wide digigrade paws that were clearly built to carry an obscene amount of weight and the swollen middle that was a mix of dense fatty tissues and hardened muscle. The last thing Inoichi noted as he came to stand close to the vulpine head that rested on a large pillow was that the face seemed relaxed,….at peace. While Choza slowly lifted a swollen arm, made huge with bulky muscles, to inspect the limb, the blond man slowly and carefully pulled open one eye with two fingers and gulped.
"Well…. That's unsettling. The eyes are blank. No pupils, no nothing, just a colorless orb." Choza, still holding the arm up and somewhat shocked that the limb could bend so easily, looked over and grunted.
"Chakra based sight maybe? I mean, it's not unheard of. The Hyuga are not too far from that state, right?" Inoichi just hummed, mulling over the idea before letting go of the eye lid watching his larger companion work.
"Strange. The muscles are so overgrown, but he'll have close to full movement range." At this, one of the staff at the wall stepped closer and cleared his throat. He was an older man, and the two ninja recognized him as Suba, one of, if not the, top medical doctors in the village at the time.
"We conducted a few basic tests on his limbs, light electro-shock, just enough to trigger a response. What we found was that the muscle fibers themselves are a sort of…. well, they're much like a capacitor on an electronics board. When at rest they are able to compress a great deal while still holding an overall shape and size. But when under a load, they inflate with chakra, becoming much more rigid and able to operate at several times that of a normal human of the same size." Choza mulled over the words while gently lowering the arm.
"So. It's not too far removed from my own clan's techniques with the body expansion. Just in place of getting taller, he gets a hell of a lot stronger. Hmmmmm. Let me guess, his chakra is pooling in the fat cells?" The doctor looked down at his clipboard and then nodded.
"Yes. Though, that's only one place. A fair amount is being stored in the muscle cells themselves while a great deal is heavily condensed into the very fabric of his bones. It's something that we've never seen before." The two clan heads shared a look, knowing that such a detail would make the boy's bones nearly unbreakable "The skin and fur are also heavily reinforced and… there is another matter. We still need to test it but, the chakra in the fur seems to be at a different wavelength, one that is inherently unstable. Our leading theory is that anything chakra based, such as an attack for example, will have a drastically reduced effect if it comes into contact with his body. Furthermore, we believe that he could be able to transfer energy. But this is merely a hypothesis at the moment." To say both clan heads were shocked at the news could be seen as an understatement. Such powers and abilities with oceans of chakra behind them, meant that if Naruto was still Naruto, then he would be an utter nightmare in a jutsu fight. Shaking his head slowly, Inoichi placed his hands on the sides of the boy's cheeks, noting how plush the fur there was, and called out to the others in a calm voice.
"Starting mind dive. Choza, keep an eye on things ok? I'll jump in, take a good read of his psyche, and fall back." Not waiting for a reply, the blond ninja focused and started his entrance…or would have if his jutsu didn't fizzle out. Blinking and frowning at what had to be the defensive abilities of the kitsune's body, Inoichi poured more chakra into his jutsu but was met with the same result. Again, he tried to push into the boy's mind, straining as he dumped enough energy into the technique to fry a normal brain…and again, nothing happened, the fox continued to sleep, though now his lower jaw had opened a small bit as he started to lightly snore.
"What…. the hell? You poured everything into that!" Choza exclaimed as he watched his longtime friend and teammate stumble back and fall into a nearby chair. The heavyset man was just about to go over and help when he froze as a ripple of red lightning arced and fizzled across the vulpine. The crimson energy, which to the sensors in the room felt like a cross of the unrefined powers of the kyuubi itself and that of a normal human, raced in a wave from the fox's ears, all the way to the tips of his toes and tails where the arcs of energy would crackle and pop rather loudly. Choza lowered himself into a defensive posture, ready for a fight as he saw Naruto's eyes slowly flicker open. Gone were the beautiful blue eyes that the boy had been born with, replaced by a pair of brightly glowing, pupil less, red orbs that cast their baleful light like lanterns in the dark. The mighty creature's chest swelled outward as air filled its lungs then with a deep, thunderous growl which chilled everyone to the bone. Naruto, or the thing that was once the prank loving knucklehead, rose up to a sit on its wide, well padded and reinforced rear. The door to the side of the room opened quietly, though the beast's ears twitches and rotated to listen, as Hiruzen strode into the room in full battle gear and a squad of ANBU at his back. No words were spoken as the creature slowly bent its head to the side, causing a sickening crack to sound out, then bent back the other way with the same result. It then blinked it's brightly glowing 'eyes' and snorted.
"Ugggghhh…Last time I get into a fight after having an eating contest with Choji." Though gruff and with a slight growl to the words, the voice was most certainly that of Naruto. The huge fox then slowly turned his head and blinked at seeing the Hokage and the troops behind him. "Huh? Gramps? Uhhhhh, what's with the gear and the ANBU? There a fight or something?" This understandably had everyone in the room utterly stumped, even the ANBU were looking at each other in what had to be confusion. To his credit though, the elder Hokage just blinked and tilted his head slightly to the side while speaking softly as he often did with the boy.
"Are…you feeling ok Naruto?" The kitsune just blinked back at him while one large hand absently scratched at his distended gut.
"Uh, yea. Why? I mean, is this the hospital? Didn't think that jackass hit me THAT hard." The old leader looked back at the two clan heads in confusion, seeking something to go with, but both of them just shrugged their shoulders and shook their own heads in response. Sighing, he turned back and decided to simply tell the truth.
"Naruto, I'm not sure how this happened, or who is responsible, but you've transformed into a kitsune." Hiruzen stood there, expecting Naruto to be shocked, to rage at how unfair this all was, to scream in fury and vent his anger….. he didn't expect the boy he saw as a grandson to simply let out a small belch and tilt his head once again with one ear flopped over.
"Um, are YOU feeling ok old man? I've always been a fox. You know that." Naruto's lips pulled back in a toothy grin while his tails swished and waved behind his back, some worming around on the bed and floor. Though the big fox was in seemingly good spirits, the others in the room were having silent panic attacks at that statement and what it would mean for not only Naruto himself, but quite possibly the Hidden Leaf as well. It was then that the Third himself gave voice to the situation with an warry groan.
"Well….shit."